Rising Seas & Major Ports of the World
The sea level all across the world is rising due to the effects of global warming. We all are aware of this. The major port cities are the first in the list as they are very close to the sea and these rising water level are affecting them fast and bad. Even if you are not in a port city you should be worried as the raising water level is not good news. We will discuss about the rising seas endangering urban centres and major ports of the world.
The experts say that in the last two thousand years this is the first time ever that the sea levels are rising so fast. Due to global warming which is because mainly by cutting of trees and pollution the temperature of the sea is increasing as a result the ice caps are melting. Every year the sea level is increasing by three mm every year. Today it is increasing at the rate of 3.5 mm. The rate is alarming. By 2050 the loss would be around twenty eight trillion if the waters keep rising at this rate. There might be a time when the beaches will vanish completely if the rate is this high. This is high time that we take up the matter seriously and find out ways to protect the world.
Let us now move on to the country wise analysis of this situation. The first country that we are going to discuss is the North America. In this country the cities that are located close to the sea are in prominent dangers. New York and Los Angeles for example are cities that can be affected badly by this. Similarly the other cities that are in danger are Tampa and Virginia. There are no proper alarm systems set in here. There is a major population that lives in this city as a result it becomes even more important that these cities take good precautions to avoid flooding. The example of Rotterdam must be mentioned here. The port is one of the busiest in the world. This is exactly why they have taken all the precautions possible to avoid flooding.
Asia also has a huge coastal line. Many cities in India namely Mumbai and Kolkatta are facing huge risk due to flooding. Even Tokyo and Dhaka for example in Japan and Bangladesh respectively face great dangers from the rising sea level. The main reason being that, these cities are densely populated and as a result they often become very difficult to evacuate. These cities are also financially very important and significant. Australia is a country that is basically an island. It is covered by sea from all the sides. The major cities in this continent are Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. Of all the cities in Australia Sydney is the most likely to be affected by the rising sea levels fast as it is on a low lying area and has a lot of tunnels passing through it. These cities are very heavily populated and also have huge economic significance for Australia. This is exactly why rising seas is a major concern in these parts. There should be some strong steps taken to ensure that the coastlines of these cities are protected and in case of emergency a fast rescue can be arranged for the people who are living in these cities.
Now that we are done with Australia, Asia and America let us move to Europe. As we have already mentioned that Europe too has a huge coast line and many countries there are surrounded by sea. They have some major ports in the world. The Rotterdam port for example. In spite of being in the low region it has developed one of the best flood protection systems in the world. Every country we feel must take this system as a good example and try to build similar systems to protect their coast lines and the lives of the people who are living in these cities. The increasing level of the sea is a threat to all these cities. We must find out ways to stop soul erosion in these places. Perhaps it’s high time that we look into the root cause of this water level rising. The root cause is definitely pollution. We should ensure that we can control the pollution and try to reduce its harms as much as possible. This will not be able to undo the damage done but it can definitely ensure that things don’t get worse.
The last continent that we are going to discuss in our today’s topic of rising seas endangering urban centres & major ports of the world is Africa. Like all other continents even Africa has a huge coast line. There are many cities in Africa that suffer from huge risks of drowning due to rise in sea level. Cape Town for example as it has huge storms that happen there very often. Port Elizabeth is another example. The lands of these areas are such that they are not as much in danger as Sydney. These cities should definitely work on how they can ensure that they protect themselves from the increasing sea levels. They should also raise alarms and ensure that the ports are protected.
We will now discuss in the topic of rising seas endangering urban centres & major ports of the world how these port cities can ensure that the damage is reduced and is under control. The first thing is to understand how fast the sea level is increasing and what are the threats that it can cause. The port cities are busiest cities in the world. The planning and development in terms of protecting these cities from rising sea level have to be done keeping in mind this point that the cities are busy.
Prevention is definitely better than cure. You must try to look at a solution before it has become a big problem. The solution should be a proactive one. The goal should be long-term and you must look at developments that can be sustained. Any fresh and new idea must be accepted and looked into. The government must take active steps to ensure that the best measures are put in place. The houses that are constructed in these areas must be built with the concern in mind so that at times of floods they face minimum damage. There should be proper alarm systems in place so that the people staying in these areas can be alarmed at the earliest. This can ensure that fewer lives are lost.
This is all that we could discuss under the topic of rising seas endangering urban centres & major ports of the world. It is not someone’s problem this is our problem. There is perhaps one earth in the universe that can sustain life so we must do our bit to protect it for the generations to come.
